Ghosts of the Past
by Stripesicles222
Summary: With a mission gone wrong, Team RWBY is faced with the most difficult challenge of all. As they adjust to the change, they come to realize that not everything is as it seems. **Indefinite Hiatus**
1. Prologue

_A young girl stumbled through the woods, the howling of the monsters echoing ever closer._

 _The wind whipped around her as she called out for her mother. She let out a strangled cry as she tripped over a loose tree root and fell to the ground._

 _The growling of the beasts increased in volume as she lay, unmoving from exhaustion._

" _Mommy!"_

 _The girl cried out one last time before succumbing to the darkness that rushed to envelop her completely._

 _The last thing she saw was the glowing red eyes of the Grimm closing in._

* * *

Ruby awoke with a start, the final images of her dream fresh in her mind's eye.

She took a few deep breaths to steady her rampant heartbeat as she took in her surroundings.

She was sitting in the cabin of an airship, her teammates sleeping peacefully around her.

She smiled at the sight, knowing this might be their last chance for a fulfilling rest before they reached their destination - Team RWBY had been sent on a simple mission to clear out a mass of Grimm who had been terrorizing a nearby village.

Her smile slipped back into a frown as her nightmare pushed against her memories.

It had been many years since she had last been plagued with such visions. Not since…

Ruby quickly pushed the thought out of her head. She had a mission to focus on and now really wasn't the time to deal with the unpleasant memories that were resurfacing.

The young leader didn't dare attempt sleep again, so she resolved herself to just sit and watch over her teammates and friends.

* * *

Ruby collapsed her scythe as she watched Weiss remove her rapier from the disintegrating carcass of the final Grimm.

They had been battling the soulless beasts ceaselessly since their landing at the edge of the forest.

It was evident the task was much more challenging than expected, and all four girls were thoroughly exhausted. There was still much to be done.

Ruby looked around at her friends. Weiss appeared on the verge of collapse, and Blake and Yang weren't looking much better.

The Faunus had received a nasty blow to her side which had resulted in a nasty gash. It didn't appear to be fatal, but still must have hurt.

Taking in their sorry state, Ruby made a quick decision.

"You three can start setting up the campsite for the night," she said. "I'm going to go ahead a bit to scout out our path for tomorrow."

Her teammates looked up with a tired shock.

"You can't _possibly_ be thinking about heading off on your own!" Weiss exclaimed. "It's way too dangerous!"

"I'll be fine," Ruby assured. "Besides, I'll have Crescent Rose with me!"

Weiss sighed, but let it go, too tired to argue anymore.

Ruby watched as her partner set about gathering up wood to build a fire. There seemed to be something else bothering the heiress, but it probably wasn't very important, otherwise she would have said something.

"I don't like it," Yang said. "Weiss is right; we don't what's out there. At least let me come with you."

Ruby shook her head.

She knew her sister had overexerted herself already today. Her aura levels were dangerously low and she really couldn't afford running about in the dark.

"Sorry, Yang, but I can do it quicker if I go alone. Just give me ten minutes, and if I'm not back, come find me."

The blonde sighed but nodded reluctantly.

Ruby gave her one last comforting smile before running off into the trees.

Once out of sight, Ruby slowed to a walk.

Yes, she did want to scope out the nearby land, but she had another reason for heading off alone.

Something had been bothering her for a while now. Come to think of it, it started on the airship….

Ruby sighed heavily. She knew now wasn't the time to recall her mother's death. She had come to terms with it years ago, but it still brought pain and sadness whenever she thought of it.

And what could have possibly caused the memory to resurface? And so vividly too…

Her troubled wondering was brought to an end as familiar gunshots echoed through the trees.

Pushing aside her worries for the time being, she spun on her heel and raced back to the campsite.

When she reached her destination, Ruby was met with the sight of her sister and Blake battling an Ursa Major for all their worth.

Without hesitation, she unfurled her scythe and lunged into the fray. Within a few moments, the three had emerged victorious and dispatched the beast.

Panting heavily, Ruby made a worrying discovery.

"Where's Weiss?"

Yang shook her head and shrugged.

"We don't know," she admitted. "When the Grimm came, we got forced apart."

At this point, Ruby's worry was nearing full on panic levels. Blame it on adrenaline or lack of sleep, all she knew was she had to find Weiss.

"Which way did she go?"

Blake pointed across the campsite.

"She pursued a couple Beowolves in that direction."

Ruby nodded determinedly and started in the indicated way. She felt the others follow behind her and let out some tension she didn't know she was holding.

They were a team. An unstoppable one, at that. Weiss would be fine. Everything would be fine.

* * *

Everything was _not_ fine.

They walked blindly through the woods, trusting only Blake's enhanced senses and the general direction Weiss disappeared to.

After a few minutes, they emerged into a small clearing, and froze at the scene in front of them.

Ruby cried in anguish as she took in what she saw. The scene was so similar to something she had seen all those years ago.

Grimm corpses dotted the clearing at various levels of disintegration. But no one paid them any mind.

In desperation, Ruby rushed across the clearing, hoping against all odds that the past wasn't repeating itself.

Blake and Yang shook themselves out of their stupor and followed their leader across the soiled ground.

Ruby reached her goal and felt her heart jump in her throat and stick there.

Gently, she picked up the white cloth, now stained red and brown.

Any lasting hopes the trio had were broken and forgotten when Yang picked something else up.

The rapier shone an ominous red as the moonlight reflected of the blood coated blade.

Weiss would have never left Myrtenaster behind.

Ruby dropped her scythe at her side and sunk to her knees. Her remaining teammates did what they could to console their leader, but they themselves were having trouble processing it all.

Their shocked mourning was cut short as more Grimm entered the clearing, drawn by their sorrow.

Blake took a shuddering breath to steel her nerves as she reached for her weapon.

"Come on guys," she called softly. "Let's finish this mission so we can get back to Beacon."

Yang stood up, pulling Ruby with her.

"It's what Weiss would have wanted," she assured.

Ruby stared at the tattered jacket and rapier before numbly extending her scythe.

"For Weiss."

* * *

 **AN:**

 **I am sorry. I am angry at myself as well.**

 **I am planning on continuing this. I just can't promise when that will be.** **Thanks for reading, and I'll get back to you with more as soon as I can.**


	2. Welcome Back

It had been one month since the untimely demise of the young heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. Reports of her death had shaken the peoples of Remnant. She had been a model student at Beacon Academy, and her abilities as a huntress in training had been formidable, to say the least.

The Schnee Dust Company itself had suffered from the loss of its heiress. Even though Weiss had a younger brother who could step up and become the heir, hers had been the most well-known face of the company.

The surviving members of Beacon Academy's Team RWBY had been undoubtedly affected the most greatly of all.

Through their time together, they had become unspeakably close, and the departure of their fallen comrade left a void in the hearts of all three; a wound that would never fully heal.

Despite their pain, the remaining students of the team resolved to continue their huntress training. The only way they could truly avenge their friend was by eradicating the Grimm from Remnant.

After Weiss' death, they had been granted a mandatory reprieve from classes to properly mourn their teammate.

Today, the remaining members of her team would be returning to Beacon Academy. It would mark their first time back since that fateful mission.

Ruby Rose sat at a booth in a small café in downtown Vale, a strawberry milkshake in hand. She was waiting for her sister, who had gone to meet up with Blake at the airstrip. Ruby had offered to wait behind, needing the time of solitude to prepare herself for the days ahead.

Thinking back, Ruby allowed herself to weep silently at the memories she had of the white-haired huntress. She recalled all the shenanigans their team had gotten wrapped up in, from decorating their room to the hunt for Torchwick and their food fight with Team JNPR.

She gripped her milkshake a little tighter as her mind wandered to places she didn't want it to.

This wasn't the first time the Grimm had taken someone from her. The scene of Weiss' death had been all too similar to that of her mother's. It felt like someone was tearing open an old wound, making it bigger, and then dumping saltwater and lemon juice in it.

It was almost as if the world were conspiring against her, to make her miserable. It made her tremble with fear and worry. Who would be taken next?

She was drawn from her dark thoughts as a blob of yellow bounced into her vision. Looking up, she saw Blake and Yang entering the shop and heading in her direction.

Ruby was relieved to see that Blake was in fairly good condition.

After the incident, the three had temporarily split up. Ruby and Yang went home to Patch, and Blake had separated and headed back to her own home to be with her family.

They had kept in touch, of course, but there was just something reassuring about seeing someone and talking to them face to face rather than over scroll.

"Hi Blake," Ruby greeted. "How are you holding up?"

The Faunus gave a small half-smile before answering.

"Honestly, not well," she replied. "How about you?"

"About the same."

The three stood in somber silence, each still struggling to process how this could possibly have happened.

After some time, Yang decided to change the subject.

"You guys ready to go back to Beacon?"

Blake gave a noncommittal shrug as Ruby nodded uncertainly.

"As ready as we'll ever be, I guess."

She stood up from her seat and grabbed her bags from beneath the table. She dropped a small stack of lien on the table for the waitress before glancing to her friends.

Without another word, she led the way to the airship for Beacon.

The ride to Beacon was fairly uneventful.

All Yang's attempts to keep it light-hearted failed miserably as their thoughts kept drifting back towards their apprehension of the upcoming hours.

When the airship landed in front of Beacon, Ruby was surprised to see Professor Goodwitch and the headmaster waiting for them outside the school.

"Welcome back girls," Ozpin greeted cordially. "It's good to see you again."

"It's good to see you too, professors," Ruby did her best to mask her surprise. It wasn't every day your headmaster came down to personally welcome you back to a school.

Then again, it wasn't every day you had to take a forced vacation because your friend was viciously murdered by the beasts you had sworn to protect the world from.

Dust, her life sounded like some sort of fantasy/horror movie.

Professor Goodwitch cleared her throat, bringing Ruby out of her thoughts.

"How about we bring you to your room?" she offered. "I'm sure you all have had a long day."

Ruby shook her head with a small smile.

"Thank you, but we know the way," she assured. "And, I think we'd like some time to ourselves, if that's not a problem."

The headmaster nodded in understanding.

"Of course, Miss Rose," he said. "The loss of a teammate is a difficult thing to deal with."

His words were laden with sorrow, and Ruby was certain he spoke from experience.

She nodded solemnly and felt her sister rest her hand comfortingly on her shoulder.

"You three are very strong," Ozpin continued. "Not many would be willing to continue their training after such an ordeal."

"We didn't really have a choice," Ruby countered. "Weiss would never have let us just give up."

"She was very good at keeping us focused," Yang added with a small smile.

Blake remained silent, but Ruby knew she felt the same.

"Thank you for welcoming us back," Ruby said.

"Of course," Ozpin said. "I'm sure you are eager to get back to your room and catch up with your other friends."

The girls bid farewell to the teachers and began the trek back to their dorm.

The empty halls echoed with the memories of Weiss. Reminders of the times spent in joyous laughter and tiresome studies.

Arriving at their door, they paused in apprehension. After a moment's hesitation, Ruby took a deep breath and opened the door to their abode.

Everything was exactly as they had left it, with the exception of all of Weiss' belongings. Her family had come and taken it back to Atlas sometime after the funeral, leaving an empty bunk and a void throughout the rest of the room and their hearts.

Ruby walked into the room and unceremoniously dropped all but one of her bags at the door. She approached Weiss' old bed and gently placed her last bag in the center of it.

She slowly unzipped it and pulled out the heiress' rapier, now washed and rid of its stains.

Blake and Yang looked on, tears in their eyes, as Ruby laid the weapon across the bookshelf.

"Winter gave it to me at the funeral," she explained, stepping back to stand even with the others. "She said Weiss would have wanted us to have it."

Ruby felt Yang's arms circle around her. She felt the blonde's tears dripping into her hair and let her own fall as well.

Blake walked over to the sisters and placed a hand on Ruby's shoulders.

"We'll get through this," she promised, "Somehow."

Ruby smiled up at the faunus, and the three of them stood like that for a while, enjoying the comfort of the others.

"Of all the ways one of us would die, I never expected it to be Grimm," Yang said softly.

"What do you mean?" Blake asked.

Yang shrugged as she continued.

"We've done a lot of really risky stuff; I just assumed we'd go doing something incredibly dumb."

Ruby let out a half-hearted chuckle.

"Weiss wouldn't have let us," she said.

After a few more minutes, they released their grip on each other and went about unpacking.

They would make it through this.

They had each other.

* * *

 ****NOTE**  
Due to forgetfulness and lack of inspiration, this story is going on an indefinite hiatus. I feel like this is a good place to leave it, in case I never get around to writing more. I'll definitely try though.**


End file.
